Politics

You’re Joking With Fire – Atiku Warns Tinubu Over VAT Increase

Tinubu and Atiku

Former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, has warned against increase in Value Added Tax otherwise known as VAT by the administration of President Bola Tinubu saying it amounted to a blazing fire that will consume Nigerians.

Atiku made the reaction on Sunday in a statement he also said Tinubu’s economic policies since ascending the seat of president have been nothing short of impoverishing the people while living in opulence.

Atiku who has continued to pick holes in Tinubu’s policies which have been blamed on the current hardship said the president and his advisers have spent time destroying businesses instead of creating them.

He said the “increase in VAT is set to become the blazing inferno that will consume the very essence of our people,” noting that “Tinubu, alongside his coterie of advisers, has resolved to raise the VAT rate from 7.5% to 10%” which he emphasised “unveils a new era of regressive and punitive policies.”

Atiku said the impact of this policy “is destined to deepen the domestic cost-of-living crisis and exacerbate Nigeria’s already fragile economic growth.”

Tinubu’s economic policies have been nothing but confounding, analysts have said. His penchant to raise tax rates even as he floated the naira and removed fuel subsidies causing steep rise in energy prices thus causing unprecedented inflation, has astonished economic analysts with the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) warning of widespread poverty that could instigate social unrest.

The president’s fiscal responsibility has come under serious condemnation as well, as he lives in opulence according to Atiku while heaping the burden of taxation on the people.

As the chairman of Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Emeka Obegolu, has said, the administration is exposing the Small and Medium Enterprises to vulnerabilities, eroding trust of doing business in Nigeria, making Nigeria unattractive to foreign direct investment and compounding the woes the citizens are facing.

Yet, the administration announced a N50 charge on electronic money transfers exceeding N10,000.
on fintech companies a few days ago.

According to Atiku, such policies are anti-people, which are aggressively retrogressive.

He said, “President Tinubu and his entourage seem to be resorting to their familiar tactic: heaping burdens upon the impoverished while steadfastly ignoring their extravagant excesses!

“Tinubu’s actions reflect a profound insensitivity to the plight of the less fortunate as he indulges in the opulent renovation of villas and the acquisition of new jets and vehicles for himself and his family.”

Tinubu recently acquired another jet valued at $150m, and a yacht which cost the country N5b despite being scrapped by the house of representatives from the 2023 supplementary budget.

Atiku argued that, “One need not be an economist to grasp the ominous implications of President Tinubu’s ill-conceived policies for Nigeria’s future. The relentless rise in taxes and interest rates has proven excessively onerous, debilitating businesses of all sizes and leading to job losses while intensifying the suffering of the poor.

“The manufacturing sector, in particular, has endured relentless strife since Tinubu’s ascendancy, with its contribution to the GDP diminishing by over 20% since December 2023, as reported by the NBS.

“In early August, Tinubu turned his attention to agriculture. As is customary with this administration, a new policy was clandestinely formulated and announced, permitting duty-free importation of agricultural commodities such as wheat, maize, and paddy, despite vehement opposition from farmer groups nationwide.”

This policy, Atiku, stressed poses a grave threat to Nigeria’s food security ambitions, “as local farmers, facing unfair competition from low-cost producers in Asia, Europe, and America, are compelled to reduce or entirely abandon their production efforts.”

He said it jeopardises job creation, wealth generation, and the sector’s long-term prosperity, casting a shadow over Nigeria’s sustainability and development.

President Tinubu and his advisers he said would be wise to redirect their efforts towards crafting sustainable solutions to the systemic shocks afflicting the economy rather than compounding the crisis with measures destined to ignite further turmoil.

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